BMTI – Trend Experts for Shipping

Dry Bulk Rate Trend

Strong momentum for Atlantic Panamaxes
Positive trends accelerate for the western Panamax market with strong gains in trans-Atlantic trades pushing the TARV benchmark over US$ 11,000 after a number of weeks in the four digits. (p. 1)

Baltic-based Handy bulk rates ascendant
Off the Baltic, a 37,000 dwt was booked for a cargo to South Africa equivalent to US$ 13,250 daily. (p. 1)

Coasters: Northern rates rise as Q2 approaches
With weather warming as well as the new quarter approaching, business activity has continued to warm up in the northern European coaster markets, according to brokers, with owners finally securing upgrades in their freight offers. (p. 2)

…continue reading in today’s BMTI Daily Report.

New energy observed in western Handy bulk
Atlantic Handy bulkers, after a few uncertain days, appear to have gotten some fresh wind in their sails with several new streams of cargo orders coming on from the UK-Continent and Mediterranean. (p. 1)

Black Sea Handsize market seems in rude health
The Black Sea remains surprisingly vibrant as owners test charterers by raising their numbers. US$ 14.5/mt for 30,000mt grains to ARA does not seem that easy with tonnage proposed at US$ 16.5/mt. (p. 2)

Coasters: Northern owners remain optimistic
Trips for larger parcels of 5-6,000mt are getting mid-high EUR 20s/mt of EUR 26-28/mt from the GNS to the Turkish Med with some owners insisting EUR 30/mt is very likely to be obtainable on the same run by the beginning of April. (p. 2)

…continue reading in today’s BMTI Daily Report.

The spot market remains tilted toward owners with activity still holding to higher-than-average levels in the northern trades of the Baltic Sea and North Sea coaster routes. But with rates still not demonstrably higher than they were 2-3 weeks ago, there is also little basis to call it a rally of the kind clearly taking place across the Atlantic Handy bulk sector. UK ex­ports to North Spain are sporadic—as strike condi­tions at Spanish ports have slowed trade—with rates in the range of EUR 14-17/mt, interestingly with delivery WCUK on the lower end and ECUK on the higher end of that range on parcels of 4-5,000mt. Westward trips from ARAG to WCUK are fixing up to EUR 15/mt and closer to EUR 13-14/mt on ECUK redel. Among all the northern trade regions, the Baltic Sea is still the strongest in terms of supply-demand gap with just a slight increase in demand from present levels likely to set off the long-desired freight hike that shipowners have been predicting. Tonnage is decidedly less tight in the Irish Sea and North Sea, though charterers are having no success in pushing freights any lower than last-done levels with westward redelivery to Ireland from the Ger­man Baltic getting EUR 15/mt and rumoured to be fixing up to EUR 15/mt on 5,000mt parcels. Better weather seems to have been a modest boon to own­ers with charterers more willing to put cargoes on the market without the risk of having them tied up at port due to stormy conditions. Earnings have been generally unchanged on standard trans-Baltic ship­ments with 3-4,000 dwt ships still getting mid EUR 2,000s of about EUR 2,400-2,600 daily on non-ice class tonnage. Most owners remain optimistic about March with trends among the deep-sea bulkers also providing some encouragement, however indirect.

Read more news about European coaster markets in the BMTI Short Sea Report.

Positive undercurrents lift Capesize rates significantly higher as charterers start to wonder whether they should call owners’ bluff or wait for the next coll­apse, as has been frequently the case. Surely, the still-limited activity in the Pacific basin, only slightly surpassed by middling Atlantic spot action, suggests that a base of fixing activity is lacking. Nonetheless, an upward correction is in full week and it would seem that the market level has some ways to rise still before the new balance is achieved. In the event, the trans-Atlantic RVs increase by nearly US$ 1,000 to closer in the low-mid teens of US$ 13-14,000 daily.

…continue reading about the dry bulk chartering market in today’s BMTI Daily Report.

Atlantic Panamax trends remain positive
An obvious recovery in Atlantic sentiment is afoot with strong upgrades noted on both trans-Atlantic and front haul business with upwards of US$ 500 added to both runs, taking them to US$ 7,500 daily and US$ 12,000 daily, respectively. (p. 1)

Eastern Handy bulk freights under pressure
For Indonesia to New Zealand rates have dropped to around US$ 11.0-11.5/mt. (p. 2)

Oil gains after Saudi Arabia cuts production
Global prices for crude oil closed higher on Thursday after intra-day fluctuations. (p. 5)

Continue reading in today’s BMTI Daily Report.

Reasons for optimism in commodities market
Global steel output was 132.4 Mt in November, up 5% year-on-year and the strongest YoY gain since March 2014. If China continues to move the needle higher, the Pacific basin may see a recovery in dry bulk demand that could push into Chinese New Year. (p. 1)

Coasters: Owners anticipate 2017 momentum
Some late year improvement in rates can be attributed to the holiday rush, but just as much can be reasonably credited to rising cargo demand. (p. 1)

Containership S&P prices fell year-on-year
Secondhand prices on average fell more than 20% during 2016 with the sizes between 3,000 and 10,000 TEU in particular seeing a greater drop. (p. 2)

…continue reading in today’s BMTI Daily Report.